The Night Pride Pup
Chapter 1 Kutisha, a small Golden Retriever pup, walked up to the final mojo kwe mojo stone that led to the Tree of Life. She sighed. "This is the last one. I made it." She ran up the path, but tripped over a branch. When she tried to stand, she yelped in pain. "Hurts to much to stand on. Which means I can't get to the Tree of Life and find my mom." She sniffed and cried a little bit. "HELP!!" Anga, keenest of sight of the Lion Guard at the Tree of Life, was flying over the mountain pass when she spotted her. Anga is a martial eagle who has purple and white feathers with black and white underlining. Her eyes are yellow and blue and her feet are dark gray. She has a dark grey beak and a black crown on her head. "Uh-oh. Better go see if she needs help." She flew down to the young Golden Retriever. The pup gasped. "An eagle and ''a hurt paw? How could today get any worse?" She closed her eyes and prepared to be snacked on. But, instead of attacking her like she originally thought, Anga placed her wing around the small pup. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt ya." "You're not?" Kutisha asked. Anga shook her head. "I only feast on mice. Not pups. I'm Anga. What's your name, pup?" Kutisha smiled. "I'm Kutisha." Anga smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kutisha. Want some help getting to the Tree of Life?" Kutisha nodded. "Okay, wait here. I'm gonna go get my friends. They'll help you get there. I'll be right back." She flew off, and after a few minutes, she was joined by five lions. Kutisha sat perfectly still, and wagged her tail at the sight of her new eagle friend. Anga landed before her and brought over another lion. Her fur was chestnut brown. She has blue eyes, a dark pink nose, a violet orange flower above her ear and she seemed to have a dark brown stripe on her back. "Kutisha, this is Nirmala, the healer at the Tree of Life," Anga said to the small pup. Kutisha smiled and tried to stand. "Hi." She winced in pain as she stood on her paw. Nirmala nudged her. "''Arama karo, young pup. Relax. Your paw looks swollen, and it may take a day or two to heal properly." "Okay. No matter how long it takes, I want to get to the Tree of Life so I can be away from my father," Kutisha said. One of the lions, Baliyo, came over, confused. He had dark brown fur, with a creamy brown underbelly, muzzle and paws. His large hair tuft is a dark greyish-brown, with darker and lighter stripes running through it. The same goes for his tail tuft. Dotted around his legs are dark brown spots and and there are three smaller spots under his eyes. His ear rims are black around the top and brown along the sides, and his inner ear is light pink which is darker near the ear canal. He has pale yellow sclerae, with dark blue irises. His nose is large, pointed, and dark pink. "Why would you wanna not be around your father?" Kutisha sighed. "My father used to hurt me, my two sisters, my brother, and my mom. My mother told my about the Tree of Life, and I thought that I could be the first in my family to come here and be safe." "Well, you are safe here, young one," said another male lion, Surak. He is an adult male lion with dark brown fur and a creamy brown underbelly, paws and muzzle. His mane is large and, like his tail tuft, has other, lighter stripes of fur running through it. The mane points upwards on the sides and near the bottom, where a tuft of fur sticks out from it. He has exceptionally large upper eye rims and eyebrows, compared to his relatively small and thin eyes which are yellow with dark red irises. Surak has black ear rims along the top of his ears and dark brown ones on the sides, while his inner ears are pink. Surak has a brownish-red, pointed nose and black whiskers. Kutisha smiled. "Thank you. Now, my mom told me that the queen would help me. Is she here?" "That would be me," said a voice. Up came a slender young lioness, with chestnut brown fur and a dark brown stripe running down her back. The top of her ears are lined with a similar brown, and her pink inner ears have dark brown fur underneath. She has a red nose and her eyes are chocolate brown, with tawny eye rims that are lighter below her eye. The brown-cream colour of her lower eye rims is also present on her muzzle, her underbelly and her paws. The back of her legs contain dark markings. The tip of her tail is dark brown. "I'm Rani, leader of the Night Pride and the Queen of the Tree of Life." "Your Majesty," said Kutisha, bowing her head. Rani brought another lion over. He has a light golden pelt and paler golden paws, underbelly and muzzle, with scruffier fur on his upper cheeks and the base of his chest. He has a red hair tuft with a few bright red stripes and a bushy tailtip, that is the same color as his hair tuft. His eyes are orange-brown, with dark, thick eyebrows located above them. He possesses a dark brown nose and whiskers. He has brown rims along the side of his light red-brown inner ears and black rims along the top. "And this is Kion, my King." "King?" Kutisha asked. "My mom never told me of a king, but, I guess anything is possible." Kion approached her. "Kutisha, right?" The pup nodded. Kion smiled and nuzzled her. "I think you and me are gonna be good friends." "Really?" Kutisha asked. Kion nodded. "Yeah. In the meantime, I wanna introduce you to the others when we get to the Tree of Life." Kutisha smiled. "Okay. Sounds good!" Kion lifted her onto his back. "Come on, I'll carry you." Kutisha could tell she would like Kion; he was kind, gentle, brave, and knew the right animal to trust. She could tell she would like the rest of the Night Pride, too. As Kion reached the end of the mountain pass, she saw it; the Tree of Life. She gasped in delight. "It's... it's beautiful!" "I thought you might like it," Rani said as she approached. "Come on, we'll take you down there. Hold on to Kion, 'cause the hill gets sorta steep." Kutisha wrapped her paws gently around Kion's neck as they made their way down the hill. When they got to the bottom, she unwrapped her paws. Rani smiled at the young pup. "Welcome to the Tree of Life. Chapter 2 'Wow. The Tree of Life is just as beautiful as my mom said it was," Kutisha said as the Night Pride and Kion showed her around. Kion smiled. "Come on. Let me take you to meet my friends." Kion led her inside the Tree where several young animals were waiting. The first was Anga, whom she already knew. The second was a mandrill. She looked like a young, dainty mandrill with grey fur covering her body with a pale gray underbelly. Towards her hands and feet are bands of dark brown fur, which are longer near her hands. This same brown fur collars her neck. Atop her head is a slightly lighter yet still dark brown fur. Her hands, feet, and muzzle are pink. Her face is grey which rims around the eyes, with blue stripes settling just underneath. On her nose and reaching towards her forehead is a large magenta "stripe", which ends just before her eyebrows. Her eyes are olive green. Her teeth, whilst petit, are sharp. "This is mine and Rani's Royal Mjuzi, Makini." "Hi, Kutisha! Oh, you are so cute!" Makni said, rubbing Kutisha's head. The pup smiled. "Nice to meet you, too," she said. The next animal was an egret. He has a long, pointy orange beak and lavender circles across his large eyes. His eyelids are a slightly more bluish shade. Atop his head, he sports a crest of five feathers of differing lengths, starting off with a light yellow at the bases and transitioning to a slightly dark tangerine orange near the tips. "This is Ono, our Keenest of Insight and our Smartest," Kion introduced. Ono took a look at her. "A Golden Retriever! I've never seen one, but I hear they're very gentle and smart." "You heard right," Kutisha said with a giggle. The next animal she was to meet was a honey badger. His body is shown to be of a good build, and has a gray-blue fur all over, with a darker patch across his belly. He has muscular forelegs and a round face. His claws are more of a more dark royal blue color. Lining the undersides of his forelegs is pure white fur. This fur color is also present across his back, and continues all the way up to his forehead. His eyes are very dark blue, with thick black eyebrows. His inner ears are pink, and his nose is dark magenta. Three slightly darker freckles can be found on either side of his face. He also appears to have a slight overbite. He has large front teeth with a prominent gap in between them. "This is Bunga, our Bravest." "Hi," Kutisha said, bowing. Bunga scratched her behind the ear. "Man, you're cute! Not as cute as me though." Kutisha rolled her eyes. The next animal she was to meet was a hippo. Beshte has a stout body with thick legs, dark gray-purple toenails, and three dark spots on his back. His body color is that of a neutral gray, which becomes much paler across his chest and jawline. His inner ears are pale pink, and the area around his eyes is a lighter shade of his body color. He has a short tail. Beshte is a slightly obese hippopotamus, but still much built up. "This is Beshte, our Strongest." "Poa. I've never met a Golden Retriever before," Beshte said. Kutisha smiled. "And I've never met a hippo before." The last animal at the end of the line was a female cheetah. Her nose is bright pink, and her tail tip is a bit fluffier. Her yellow fur is also a bit paler. Fuli has the appearance of a king cheetah with soft, vivid yellow fur, with many light brown spots and markings all over her body. Of these spots, she has five rectangular spots with smaller spots within them, as well as three spots on either side of her face, three on the top of each ear, and a small heart-shaped spot on her head. Some are solid, while others have hollow centers. Her inner ears are light brown, rimmed with dark brown. Her muzzle, paws, and underbelly are a pale creamy-yellow, as is the fur encircling her eyes. Her eye color is a strong emerald green and she has black eyelashes. Her nose is a similar brown to that found in her ear, with a tawny brown bridge. Fuli is lithe and thin, with a light frame, large pointed ears, and a long tail, that is tapered at the base. Her jaw is sharp and prominent. "And this is Fuli, our Fastest." "Hi," Kutisha said. She had never seen a cheetah before, and her brother told her that they were mean. But, Fuli seemed nice. The cheetah smiled at her. "Nice to meet you." "So, now that I've meet your friends," Kutisha said to Kion, what do we do now?" Kion tried to think. Before he could answer, a male hyena walked in. He was a smoky gray spotted hyena with a grayish-beige underbelly. He has large ears that curve to a sharp point, with his left ear bearing a visible notch. His nose, feet, and the upper side of his tail are black. The under side of his tail is a beige color. His muzzle is gray. He also has dark gray spots across his back and a ridge of black fur running along his head and upper neck that juts back in sharp spikes. His eyes are black, with thick eyebrows and a ring of darker gray fur around them. A female hyena walked in behind him. She is a fairly small and slim spotted hyena. She has gray fur that bears a slight purplish tint. Her lower legs and paws are a very dark shade of purple, and her underbelly is a dull pinkish-orange. Her tail is short and bicolored; most of it is deep purple like her paws, but the fur on the very bottom is much paler, the same color as her underbelly. Her eyebrows and ears both match the color of her mane and paws, and her inner ears are dull pink. On each side, she has three round spots, slightly darker than her main coat color, lined up vertically from her shoulder to the joint of her foreleg. Two smaller spots fleck her face on either side, and she has darker stripes along her neck as well as a streak along her spine. Her muzzle is the same color as her spots. She has large, deep blue eyes, encircled by darker fur, and a dark purple mane that is striped with brighter purple. Her mane is long and thick, with a lock in the front leaning toward her nose. "Hey, Kion. Thought we'd drop in for a visit." "Glad you did. We have a new visitor," Kion said. Kutisha slid off of Kion's back and hobbled toward Fuli, whom she hid behind. Kion smiled at her. "It's okay, Kutisha. Janja and Jasiri are friendly hyenas." Kutisha came out. "Are you sure?" Jasiri giggled. "Of course we are! We're not going to hurt you." Kutisha hobbled over to the hyenas. "My father always told me hyenas were vicious and cruel, and my mother told me that some hyenas were like that. You never know which kind you'll meet." "Well, me and my clan were ''like that, kid," Janja said. "But we came around. Name's Janja, and this here is Jasiri. What's your name?" "Kutisha, Mr. Janja, sir," Kutisha replied with a smile. Jasiri smiled. "Well, Kutisha, you're in safe paws with the Night Pride and with Kion and his friends. Janja and I are gonna be sticking around for a while, so you can meet our clan when you feel like it." Kutisha smiled at her. "I'd love that. ''Astante. ''Thank you." The two hyenas left when Nirmala came in. "All right, Kutisha. Time to start your healing. Your remedy is ready for you." "Yay!" Kutisha cheered as Kion lifted her up on his back and before Nirmala. The lioness placed one of her front paws on the tree's roots in front of her and the other one of Kutisha's injured paw. The Tree of Life began to glow with a strange light. Kutisha giggled. "That tickles!" After a moment, the glowing stopped, and Nirmala took her paw off of Kutisha's paw. "Okay, now try and stand on your paw." Kion gently put Kutisha to the ground, and Kutisha didn't feel the pain in her paw anymore. "Oh, that's much better! Thank you, Nirmala!" She ran around the group, laughing. "I could run around the whole world if I wanted to!" she yipped. She stopped before Kion, smiling. But, her happiness turned to sadness. "Are... there any other Golden Retrievers here?" "I'm not sure. Rani and I have never seen one." Kutisha sighed. "I was hoping my mom would be here. So I would know she was safe from my father." "Why would your mom not be safe from your dad?" Fuli asked. Kutisha sighed and sat down. "I think it's time I tell you guys the whole story..." She imagined that faithful day when she was a pup. Her mother, Jabari, and her father, Kito, had been arguing while she played with her sisters, Shani and Hasina, and her brother, Nuru. "''I've had enough, Kondo!" her mother said loud enough for her pups to hear. "I will not allow you to hurt me and our pups any longer! I'm taking the pups away, so you can't hurt us!" "As long as you live in my den," roared Kondo, "you will do as I say!" Kutisha had been listening. "Mama?" asked the youngest pup. Jabari gasped and scooped her up. "It's all right, little Kutisha. You're going to be fine." Kondo kept his eyes on his mate as she put the pup down. "Kutisha, I want you to go play." "But, Dad, there isn't anything for us to do," Kutisha whined. Kondo growled, causing the pup to shrink up. Her father never growled at her like this before. Jabari stepped between them. "That is quite enough!" she snarled. Kondo growled. "You picked the wrong day to mess you me." Without a warning, he leapt up onto her, knocking her down. Jabari screamed. "Mama!!" Kutisha yelped. "I'll be all right, sweet heart!" her mother said. "Take your siblings and run! Run! Run as fast as you can!" Kutisha ran off to find her siblings. "Shani! Hasina! Nuru!" Her siblings looked at their sister, and ran to her. "What is it, sis?" Nuru asked. "Mama is in a fight with Dad! She said we need to go and get outta here! Now!" The four pups broke into a run. As she remembered these words, Kutisha began crying hard. Everyone she had already met was listening to her tale. "It's okay, Kutisha," Rani assured. "Go on and tell the rest of the story." "We'll be there to help in case you get scared," Jasiri agreed. Kutisha sniffed as her mind wandered back to that faithful day. Then, something happened that they all never expected; her eyes lit up a bright yellow and she sat there, staring off into space until her eyes changed back and she shook it off. Category:Fanfiction Category:The Lion Guard Stories Category:Canon Fanons Characters